The four-game football event Saturday in Turtle Creek has been tabbed the Rally at the Wolvarena, in reference to Woodland Hills' stadium name.

For the four WPIAL teams, they have to hope it doesn't turn into Winless at the Wolvarena.

McKeesport, Central Catholic, Thomas Jefferson and Woodland Hills are the WPIAL teams that will play teams from Ohio and Florida. Judging by recent success of the Ohio and Florida teams, and what they did in games last weekend, you would have to consider the WPIAL teams underdogs in these games.

Will the WPIAL reputation take a hit at the Wolvarena? Woodland Hills coach George Novak might have put it best.

"We're all going to have our hands full," he said.

Woodland Hills plays Manatee, Fla., at 8 p.m. in what might be the most anticipated game of the four. Manatee is a perennial Florida power, but what the Hurricanes did in their opener last week on ESPN showed they might be more powerful than ever.

Manatee played Plant High School, a team ranked in the top five in the country in some polls. Manatee won, 48-10. Running back Mike Blakely, ranked among the top running backs in the country, rushed for 160 yards on five carries and made ESPN's top plays for one long touchdown run.

Manatee's win vaulted the Hurricanes into the top five in some national polls.

"When we agreed to play them, I talked to their coach [Joe Kinnan] and he said he had eight guys back on defense from last year and only two or three on offense," Novak said.

"I told him we had eight guys back on defense and only a couple on offense. From that aspect, I felt we'd be pretty even. ... They were good last year, but after watching them on TV, they're better this year."

Woodland Hills' young offensive line and new quarterback Javonte Pitts could be keys.

Here is a look at what WPIAL teams are facing in the other games:

• Thomas Jefferson vs. Cocoa, Fla., 5 p.m. -- Cocoa has won 25 games and two state championships in a row. Although a number of starters graduated from last year's team, running back Chevelle Buie returns. He already has committed to Rutgers. Cocoa opened the season last week with a 14-7 victory against Olive Branch, one of the top teams in Mississippi.

• Central Catholic vs. Akron Buchtel, 2 p.m. -- Heading into the season, it was thought Central Catholic was the WPIAL team with the best chance to win at the Rally at the Wolvarena. But Buchtel's program has been on the rise under coach Ricky Powers, a former running back at the University of Michigan. Last week, Buchtel surprised many by defeating always strong Massillon, 29-13.

• McKeesport vs. Steubenville, 11 a.m. -- Steubenville had a 68-game regular-season winning streak snapped last season and coach Reno Saccoccia has a 283-49 record in 28 seasons. This should tell you how good Steubenville can be: It shut out Woodland Hills, 13-0, in the season opener last year. Woodland Hills didn't lose another game until the state playoffs.

You think Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak isn't taking his team's game against Cocoa seriously? Cherpak and two of his assistant coaches flew to Daytona Beach to scout Cocoa's opening game Saturday afternoon.

For 33 years, he was the voice of Pirates baseball. Now, Lanny Frattare will announce WPIAL football games.

Frattare will be one of the play-by-play announcers for MSA Sports, which broadcasts games on local radio stations and also on the Internet.

Frattare retired as a Pirates announcer in October 2008. Most recently, he has been the faculty advisor to Waynesburg University's student-run radio station (WCYJ-FM).

The Ohio High School Athletic Association will consider having separate playoffs for public and private school teams.

The OHSAA decided to examine the possibility after a survey conducted by school superintendents showed almost three-fourths of Ohio schools would support separate playoffs for public and private schools.

Critics of private and parochial schools say they have an unfair advantage in sports. In Ohio, there are 828 schools in the OHSAA, but only 17 percent are private or parochial schools. However, those private and parochial schools have accounted for more than 65 percent of state champions in the past decade.

If the OHSAA makes any changes, they would go into effect for the 2012-13 season. In Pennsylvania, public and private schools compete in the same postseason tournaments.

Seth Kreutzer, a sophomore on the North Allegheny junior varsity golf team, had two holes in one within a week at Diamond Run Golf Club in Ohio Township. The second one was during North Allegheny's team tryouts.

He aced the par-3, 134-yard No. 8 with a 6 iron, and the par-3, 174-yard No. 5 with a 5-iron.

WPIAL golf has a different look to it this year. For the first time, there are two classes for individual championships in boys and girls. In the past, there has been only one class for individual championships.

The boys' Division I individual championships are Oct. 6 at Longue Vue Country Club and the Division II championships are Sept. 29 at Youghiogheny Country Club.

The girls' Division I and II championships will be Oct. 5 at The Club at Nevillewood.

• West Allegheny plays Upper St. Clair in a few weeks in what could be an interesting non-conference game. Here is what West Allegheny coach Bob Palko had to say recently about Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render: "Yes, he can be ornery, but he's awesome. We scrimmaged them for about 10 years and he's so good as a coach. You have to sift through all the stuff because he's a good person and a great coach. You go against him and you hate him because he's so good and so competitive, but you learn from guys like that."

• A year ago, Woodland Hills became the first school in Pennsylvania to have five graduates active in the NFL at one time. If those players make their respective teams again this year, Woodland Hills will probably have six graduates in the NFL. Tight end Rob Gronkowski was a second-round pick of the New England Patriots and has caught seven passes in the Patriots' past two preseason games.

• A regular-season game in Texas between Lake Travis and Westlake high schools attracted a crowd of 30,000. The contest was played at the University of Texas' Royal Memorial Stadium.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.